BMW helps boost charging network for i3 launch
Print Edition
THE visionary BMW i3 electric car is driving into the spotlight in Shanghai as the German premium carmaker takes initiatives to develop charging facilities for the public.
Under its long-term commitment to sustainable mobility, BMW collaborates with Expo Shanghai Group and the State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company to install 50 charging poles at the former Shanghai World Expo site in Pudong, a 5-kilometer-square area now called Shanghai Expo EV Pilot Zone to run the biggest downtown charging network.
“It is only a small thing, but quite symbolic, we believe it can generate a lot of interests like the butterfly effect,” said Karsten Engel, president and CEO of BMW Group Region China, said. “The biggest problem for China’s electric car promotion at the moment is that we don’t have enough charging facilities.”
Drawing on its cooperation with the State Grid in the MINI E project three years ago studying the user habits and expectations of electricity-powered vehicles, BMW became part of the Shanghai Expo EV Pilot Zone project last February, making it the first time for a foreign carmaker to get fully engaged in China’s charging infrastructure development.
To date, 10 charging poles have been set up in the green zone in Shanghai to support the usage of BMW cars as well as those of other brands. By comparison, the supercharger station unveiled by American electric carmaker Tesla in Pudong last month is not yet compatible with offers from its rivals.
“We are not afraid of competition. I am convinced that in a couple of years, China will be the largest market for electric cars in the world,” said Engel. “A big challenge in the market is to develop a market.”
Last year, out of more than 20 million cars were sold in China, but only 14,600 run on batteries. When the whole electric market is at its initial stage, a full-fledged charging network can be a game changer, and so can a great product. Available for test drive in the green zone since May 30, the BMW i3 is about to make some big splashes in September, when it is officially released to the Chinese market.
As the vanguard of the BMW i series, the BMW i3 is born electric, to make a difference with its focus on sustainability throughout the entire value chain.
The car features the industry-first series-produced carbon fiber structure, which effectively offsets the heavy weight of batteries, its manufacturing, which goes on in a plant in Leipzig, Germany powered by wind, can save consumption of water by 50 percent, and energy by 70 percent than at a traditional assembly line, and some of the interior plastic and exterior thermoplastic parts in the car are recycled or sourced from renewable sources.
It is a car targeting young city dwellers that want to show their support for sustainability, said Engel. And another exciting offer in the i series, the i8 plug-in hybrid, is for those looking to enjoy the dynamics of a sports car as well as the consumption of a small car, which can be as low as 2.1 liters per 100 kilometers
Shanghai, which has recently set aside 3,000 free license plates for imported green cars, is where the company places high hopes for its i series launch this autumn.
BMW is not asking for any privileges in respect of subsidies, like those for domestic electric cars, Engel said. “The free plate alone will be quite satisfactory already. The sales number is not that important at this stage. What matters is to get those infrastructure in place, which will drive the market to a trigger point that leads to sales explosion one day.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
